All 395 local religious organizations of
Jehovah's Witnesses
in Russia, which the Ministry of Justice is trying to ban behind
their backs,
have filed petitions in the Supreme Court to be involved in the
case in the
capacity of co-defendants.

According to existing legislation, all local
religious
organizations are individual legal entities, with their own
property, and they
are not structural subdivisions, affiliates, nor representatives
of one
another. They are united to the Administrative Center of Jehovah's
Witnesses in
Russia only by unity in the faith and internal canonical
relations.

An absolute majority of these organizations
have never been
accused of violating the law. They are puzzled why the Ministry of
Justice is
demanding their liquidation, prohibition, and recognition as
"extremist," especially behind their back. They are especially
alarmed that after the liquidation of the organizations, believers
may be held
criminally liable merely for joint reading of the Bible, as shown
by the
criminal "Case of the Sixteen" in Taganrog. (tr. by PDS, posted 2
April 2017)

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